Thursday, June 11, 2009

Isolated incident, my black ass…

My thoughts are with the family of security guard Stephen Tyrone Johns, who was murdered yesterday during the terrorist attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Shall we?

My father liked to say that if a thing walked like it and talked like it, folks should be willing to call it like it is.

Damn if he wasn’t right.

Yesterday's attack was not an isolated incident. Neither the terrorist who perpetrated it, the movement that demanded it or the rhetoric that fueled it…none of that shit is “isolated” or “lone” or “random”.

This was an act of terrorism and, if we the people continue to deny that we’ve got some serious home-grown terrorists roaming amongst the masses, this shit will only grow stronger.

I’m forever amazed at this nation’s ability to see in others what we are blind to in ourselves…but there you have it.

Terrorists are over there, brown and Muslim…lone crazies are over here, incidents are isolated and a corrupted view of religion is not seen as a factor.

Google the Department of Homeland Security report on domestic terrorism…and you’ll see the organized effort from the right to discredit a report that should have put all Americans on alert.

Open the door on the militia movement and you’ll find the Christian Identity Movement cooking breakfast for radical anti-choicers who have signed manifestos stating their support of homicide as a viable and "honorable" tactic for which they will be rewarded in heaven.

Visit the Anti-Defamation League’s website and you’ll find page after page detailing the connection between militias, the Christian Identity Movement, acts of terrorism, homicidal anti-choice terrorists, hate crimes against LGBT people, the burning of black churches, the murder of immigrants and on and on and on until the notion that this is isolated becomes the laughable myth that it should be and the fact that we have a domestic terrorism threat becomes the real.

And it is the real…not the spin, not the desperate attempt to deny the connections, not the mainstream media’s willingness to report on the pieces as if they didn’t come from the same pie…it is the real that we must address.

If it walks like a terrorist, talks like a terrorist and murders like a terrorist we must call it what it is.

I find it interesting that Rachel Maddow continues to push that there is domestic terrorism, and every single person she interviews shies away from that term. You and she have it correctly, the rest of the media are missing their brains, or too afraid to say the truth.

I am so happy that you wrote about this! Since 9-11-01, the nation's capitol CLAIMED that they have the whole city on high alert for acts of all domestic terrorism... hmmmm... guess they missed a spot!

We can't be naive... there ARE sleeper cells in this country and especially in the areas around the nation's capitol.

Do the authorities now want to "claim" that this is just one nut case and not a planned act of terrorism?

Sure, the final act was pulled off by one lone old crusty fart - who spent most of his years on this planet pissed off - but what about his support network? What about the people who have read his manifesto and agree with it? And so on.

But no, there are no domestic terrorists. The Republicans need their votes so they are just "the fringe" who then become "the base" come election time.

By the way, there are also domestic terrorists on the left. Homeland Security has also published reports about them. The "anarchists" who drive spikes into trees to kill loggers, and burn down the Starbucks during a WTO summit.

However, there is a slight difference in the two groups. Radicals on the right are more likely to flock to the party. Radicals on the left vote for the goofball parties that will never get elected. The Green Party, the Communist Party, and so on. They do not really figure in for "the base". They are left of the base.

And in closing, I would gladly add STREET GANGS and DRUG CARTELS to the list of domestic terrorists. What else would you call a group of street thugs who make parks unsafe for children to play in - who then use threats to the community if anyone rats?

Way back in the day being poor was not a crime. There was poverty, but children could play in their front yards without worrying about a drive by shooting.

I want to start first by saying that this was a great post and, you are right, we need to not just go after organized groups terrorizing people and also tackle the hate that causes strangers to act towards similar goals.

However, I believe that when something is considered an "isolated incident" it doesn't mean to imply that there aren't others like that person... but that it wasn't an orchestrated act by a much larger group with a leader, with organized funding, etc...

i.e., the serial killers of the world do not necessarily belong to The Serial Killers Of The World Organization and they don't go to Serial Killer Training Camp... etc... Instead, they grow up in a society that lets certain people slip through the cracks into certain insanity, they act against society, and they commit despicable acts.

In some cases, there are certain forms of hate out there... which may have groups that stick together with this same idea... and may perform deplorable actions that they all agree with... but it's not organized. When it isn't organized, the term "isolated incident" is used... "isolated incident" isn't meant to dismiss the problem or reduce it, even if the media might portray it this way.

When people are organized, taking orders, getting funding, etc... there is ultimately a hierarchy... often with one or more leaders. When it is organized, it is not "isolated" and we can target the leader or leaders and weaken the strength by which the base feeds from. This is the reason for the distinction... to how the problem gets resolved.

When it is an isolated incident, there is no "leader" or "leaders"... the entire base is also the entire leadership. The "leader" is the "idea"... the funding is the passion of the idea... the orders are the hate fueled by the idea. At best, the idea can be attacked, but the whole idea cannot be completely erased until all of those who believe the idea are still passionate. We can't merely attack ideas or passions by themselves, or we attack freedom itself. So, the unfortunate side effect of freedom is the fact that even insane people are free to prove their insanity before we get a chance to lock them up for proving themselves.

Thank you so much for having the courage to say what our politicians and media types won't. These terrorist acts -- and the subcultures that facilitate them -- must be called out for what they are. I'm sorry to see that the new administration and the MSM prefer hypocrisy to cracking down on terror networks.

I agree with what Bob wrote above: It appears that the Tiller murder and the Holocaust murder were the acts of lone gunmen, and not directly ordered by larger networks that the men belonged to. This is not to diminish their tragedy or the fact that these killers sought to inspire fear in some segments of the general population (likely abortion doctors and Jews, respectively). And yes, law enforcement needs to go after people they believe might be planning such attacks. But can we agree that until there is a much larger action (e.g. a bombing that kills many), it's a tough sell to the American public that we are threatened by homegrown terrorists who happen to be white Christians. Timothy McVeigh is proof that such terrorists can exist on U.S. soil, but let's keep things in perspective. Plus, I don't want to spend my life in fear during the Obama era any more than I did during the Bush years, so let's not blow this out of proportion.

To Bob & Zak, I'd ask you to consider the importance of the United States living up to the same standard it sets for others.

I am an American, married to a Canadian and living in Canada. Canada has been deeply impacted by the War on Terror. We've also been treated very poorly by a country that really should be our best friend. Many American politicians and talking heads cite the "fact" that the 911 terrorists infiltrated the US over the Canadian border and were able to do so because Canada has such poor immigration policies.

Trouble is, it's NOT a fact. It's a lie. All the 911 terrorists came right in the front door with carte blanche from US Immigration. No matter how many times Canada tries to correct this misstatement, it's like playing whack-a-mole -- another big mouth pops up somewhere else to tell it.

The US has asked countries such as Pakistan, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, etc. and the Palestinians to reject terrorism and all that fans its flames. Not just the direct support for terrorists, but the indirect sympathizing with them because perhaps those who aren't actively involved in terrorism feel the same on issues that the terrorists are acting on.

And in the meantime, the US government and media turn a blind eye to the exact same kind of hate-mongering, and mitigate terrorism when some might agree with the motivations of the terrorist, if not the methods.

Given the way the US has behaved on the world stage over the past 8 years, we really cannot afford to be seen to have a double standard now. The US is in the spotlight, and the whole world will be waiting to see if she will live up to the same high standards she applies to everyone else.

That's why, at this time, it is crucial that the US take the exact same approach to these acts of domestic terrorism that it would have anyone else take. I suspect if the US fails in this regard, she will become a global joke.

To be honest, although I am an American and love the country of my birth, I'm deeply ashamed of her lately -- and I'm mortified at the way both these acts of terrorism are being glossed over.

I've considered not moderating the comments to this post because they point to the problem being discussed. Maybe I should have let things fly...let hate have some space so people can see the puss beneath the scab.

I don't know...but I do know that this isn't one of those situations I'm looking to be proven right on.

Even so, something about the way people are digesting these events makes me feel like I'm the only one not eating Soylent Green every Tuesday.